Importance
of abstinence in public schools stressed by counselors
First
period health class in room 1014 at Carlsbad High School started out as usual
one day in November. About halfway through the period, several women walked
into the room. Women from The Pregnancy Resource Center came with a message,
and about 30 students in the class received the most valuable lesson of their
lives.
Gayelee
Reynolds, local youth pastor and newest instructor for Pregnancy Resource
Center’s Abstinence Team, delivered a startling analogy of possible
ramifications of pre-marital sex. Following was a riveting video presentation
of real life scenarios of young people who said yes to sex.
The
Pregnancy Resource Center’s Abstinence Program, based in Oceanside,
started four years ago. It now consists of five youth pastors who go into local
junior high and high schools teaching the importance of waiting for marriage
before having sex. Numerous other volunteers, including teen testimonials, make
this program a success. When asked why she volunteers her time for this
program, Gayelee responded, “What if somebody had information that could
save your life and didn’t share it with you?” The message must be
brought to young people today.
Abstinence,
or the “New Virginity” as Newsweek magazine called it
in a recent cover story, is a current trend among young people today. Teens are
realizing that they have goals and dreams for their lives.
To attain these goals they want to stay focused, finish school and stay
healthy. With so much in young people’s lives revolving around sex from
peer pressure to music, movies and television, abstinence is the logical choice
for today.
The
Medical Institute recently published findings on government-funded polls in
regards to teen sex. Of the 2,025 people surveyed, ages 12 to 17, 58 percent
said sexual activity for high school teens is not acceptable. Ninety three
percent said it was important for teens to be given a strong message from
society that they should abstain from sex until they are at least out of high
school. Fifty percent stated the main reason teens don’t have sex is fear
of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and/or pregnancy.
Each
year about one million teenage girls become pregnant in the U.S. Obvious
repercussions of teen pregnancies are dropping out of school, becoming a teen
parent or aborting the baby. Of the one million teenage pregnancies, ninety
five percent are unintended and one third end in abortion.
Sexually
Transmitted Diseases are a problem that is rampant among youth today. Twenty
years ago there were two venereal diseases. Today, there are over 50 different
viruses many of which are life-long or worse — life-threatening. This
year, two million to four million teens will contract a Sexually Transmitted
Disease.
Teens
are five times more likely to get herpes today than in 1970. The Human
Papilloma Virus, also known as HPV, is responsible for 99.7 percent of all
cervical cancers. Forty six percent of teenage girls will contract HPV after
their first sexual intercourse. Startling statistics, however, everyone needs
to be made aware of the dangers.
The
Abstinence Program teaches teens the only way to protect themselves from
pregnancy and STDs is by abstaining from sex. The program promotes being in
control and having a response when the pressure is on.
Pregnancy
Care Center, in El Cajon, has a similar abstinence program with separate
curriculum for boys and girls taught at various off campus locations in East
County. Christian based teaching with real-life facts and statistics has a
solid impact on the youth involved in these programs. According to Jenna Dicky,
Abstinence Education Director, “Working at a pregnancy center is
definitely a ministry, but if people really looked into and embraced abstinence
until marriage, we would be able to go out of business. This is really the goal
we have in mind!”
While
there is still much controversy over what the public schools should be
teaching, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation found that about 34 percent of
high schools have an abstinence-only approach. This is opposed to the 58
percent of schools which have a contraception-based approach.
The
goal of the San Diego Abstinence Coalition is to have abstinence taught in all
public junior high and high schools in the county. Although Christianity cannot
be brought into the public schools, they realize that making this part of the
school curriculum makes the decision to abstain easier for teens. It is the
smart choice for health reasons as well as attaining their goals.
Some
quotes from students who were part of the abstinence presentation taught by
Life Resource Network are:
•
“I talked to my friend about all of the topics that you covered and he
was interested. He now wants to hold off on sex and worry about school. The
information that was given to me will never be forgotten.”
•
“Thank you for coming into our health class to teach us about
abortion....I also didn’t know the statistics of everything. It made an
impact on my thoughts about abstinence. Now, even more than ever, I want to
wait to have sex.”
•
“I’m making a promise to myself not to have sex until I’m
married. This presentation really helped me think about the life of my
future.”
The
abstinence programs work. They teach kids how the decisions they make today
affect the rest of their lives. They teach kids to have respect for themselves
and for others. That love is developed in many ways over a period of time. That
purity is integrity, not something to be mocked. Young people are learning that
it is O.K. to say, “I’m waiting until marriage for sex.”